Written answers
Tuesday, 11 July 2023
Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment
Trade Agreements
Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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259. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the current status of the proposed EU-Australia trade agreement, the Irish government's position in this regard, whether he has commissioned an economic evaluation of the impact that the trade agreement will make to the Irish economy and sectors therein; whether it is proposed that the agreement will include an investor-state dispute mechanism and the form that will take; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34225/23]
Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I welcome the progress achieved to date in the negotiations for a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement between the EU and Australia. Ireland is fully supportive of the aim of achieving a comprehensive and balanced FTA with Australia as soon as possible, as we look to diversify our supply chains, including for critical raw materials, and open up export markets for Irish companies.
Discussions are nearing conclusion, with sensitive areas such as agriculture still to be finalised. Once the draft texts have been circulated by the Commission, the Department will analyse the proposal in full.
This analysis will inform any decision on whether to conduct an economic assessment of the final agreement. However, the Commission's own assessment suggests that trade in goods between Australia and the EU could increase by up to 33% and services trade by up to 8% under the agreement and that this could add up to €3.9bn to the EU’s GDP by 2030.
Finally, the FTA covers areas that are the exclusive competence of the EU and does not include measures on investment protection or portfolio investment.
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